Fredericksburg Nationals rally twice, ultimately defeat Myrtle Beach Pelicans, 9-8

The Fredericksburg Nationals rallied from two separate deficits to take down the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, 9-8, on Sunday.

It was the Pelicans, the Low-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, taking an early lead once again in the series finale. Andy Garriola came up with a runner on third base in the top of the first, and delivered his 11th RBI of the week to take a 1-0 lead.

Then in the top of the third, Miguel Pabon reached on an E6 and quickly scored when Reivaj Garcia doubled into the left field corner. Cristian Hernandez followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and Jefferson Rojas blasted a single back up the chute to give Myrtle Beach a 3-0 lead.

Fredericksburg, the Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, battled back though, in the home half of the third inning. Roismar Quintana ripped a leadoff single, before a walk and hit by pitch loaded the bases for Cortland Lawson.

Lawson got the Nats on the board with a double just inside the third base line to plate two runs, and cut the deficit to 3-2. With runners on second and third, Blake Klassen punched a single over a leaping Jefferson Rojas to give the Freddies a 4-3 lead.

However, that lead was short-lived. With one out, Rafael Morel singled and advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt. He then scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 4-4. After a walk and a single, Hernandez took the lead back for the Pelicans with a two-run double to make it 6-4.

Rojas worked a walk, before Garriola burnt the Nats again with another two-run double to extend the deficit to 8-4.

Fredericksburg kickstarted its comeback effort in the fifth inning, as the Nats got the bases loaded with nobody out. Klassen got one run home with a sacrifice fly, then a wild pitch saw the FredNats cut the Pelican lead to just 8-6.

Sammy Infante got it down to just a one-run game, with his RBI groundout in the sixth.

In the bottom of the seventh, Max Romero Jr. walked to open the frame, and Roismar Quintana doubled to put two in scoring position. John McHenry followed Quintana, fell behind 0-2, but then lifted a single into shallow center field to tie the game at 8-8.

After a walk to load the bases, Jonathon Thomas lifted a two-strike offering into left field for a go-ahead sacrifice fly, but the Pelicans limited the Nats to just a 9-8 lead.

Marquis Grissom Jr. worked through a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and returned for the top of the ninth. The Pelicans did put runners on the corners with two outs, but Grissom got Parker Chavers to ground out to second base, and preserved a 9-8 FredNats win.

Franklin Marquez got the win, with Grissom Jr. earning his sixth save in as many chances, while Jose Romero took the loss.

Fredericksburg starts another homestand next Tuesday, August 1st, against the Salem Red Sox.